Foraging heights of common noctules (data from O'Mara et al. 2019)-reference-data

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Date
2019-02-21
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5441/001/1.7t4b97qf/2
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Citation
O'Mara MT, Wikelski M, Kranstauber B, Dechmann DKN. 2019. Foraging heights of common noctules (data from O'Mara et al. 2019)-reference-data. Movebank Data Repository. https://doi.org/10.5441/001/1.7t4b97qf/2
Abstract
Aerial habitats present a challenge to find food across a large potential search volume, particularly for insectivorous bats that rely on echolocation calls with limited detection range and may forage at heights over 1000 m. To understand how bats use vertical space, we tracked one to five foraging flights of eight common noctules (Nyctalus noctula). Bats were tracked for their full foraging session (87.27 ± 24 mins) using high-resolution atmospheric pressure radio transmitters that allowed us to calculate height and wingbeat frequency. Bats used diverse flight strategies, but generally flew lower than 40 m, with scouting flights to 100 m and a maximum of 300 m. We found no influence of weather on height and high-altitude ascents were not preceded by an increase in foraging effort. Wingbeat frequency was independent from climbing or descending flight, and bats skipped wingbeats or glided in 10% of all observations. Wingbeat frequency was positively related to capture mass, and wingbeat frequency was positively related to time of night, indicating an effect of load increase over a foraging bout. Overall, individuals used a wide range of airspace including altitudes that put them at increased risk from human-made structures. Further work is needed to test the context of these flight decisions, particularly as individuals migrate throughout Europe.
Keywords
animal foraging,animal tracking,bat,bio-logging,common noctule,flight,movement ecology,Nyctalus noctula,wingbeat frequency
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Sensors
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URI
https://datarepository.movebank.org/handle/10255/move.799
BibTex
@misc{001/1_7t4b97qf/2,
  title = {Foraging heights of common noctules (data from O'Mara et al. 2019)-reference-data},
  author = {O'Mara, MT and Wikelski, M and Kranstauber, B and Dechmann, DKN},
  year = {2019},
  URL = {http://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.7t4b97qf/2},
  doi = {doi:10.5441/001/1.7t4b97qf/2},
  publisher = {Movebank data repository}
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
ID  - doi:10.5441/001/1.7t4b97qf/2
T1  - Foraging heights of common noctules (data from O'Mara et al. 2019)-reference-data
AU  - O'Mara, M. Teague
AU  - Wikelski, Martin
AU  - Kranstauber, Bart
AU  - Dechmann, Dina K.N.
Y1  - 2019/02/21
KW  - animal foraging
KW  - animal tracking
KW  - bat
KW  - bio-logging
KW  - common noctule
KW  - flight
KW  - movement ecology
KW  - Nyctalus noctula
KW  - wingbeat frequency
KW  - Nyctalus noctula
PB  - Movebank data repository
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.7t4b97qf/2
DO  - doi:10.5441/001/1.7t4b97qf/2
ER  -
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